Former IGP Jayasundara responsible for 2018 Digana incident: M.L.A.M. Hizbullah

COLOMBO (News 1st): Former Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundara must take full responsibility for the incident that broke out in Digana, Kandy in 2018, M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, testified before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the 2019 April 21st Attacks on Wednesday night (Nov. 25). Testifying at the commission, M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, the Former Governor of the Eastern Province said based on his findings, had the Former IGP issued appropriate instructions, the incident in Digana could have been controlled very quickly. The incident in Digana in 2018, was the primary cause that triggered Zahran Hashim to embark on an armed operation, Hizbullah told the commission referring to his personal findings. Furthermore, he charged that the report prepared by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development headed by former MP - Prof. Ashu Marasinghe on the Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd, was prepared ex parte. Prof. Ashu Marasinghe who presented an individual proposal to Parliament for the said private university to be taken under the purview of the Government, later unilaterally acted as the Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development, the Former Governor further noted. Hizbullah claimed that although he submitted all the relevant documents to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development for the preparation of the report, none of the documents were referred to when preparing it. The commission was further informed that he hopes to establish the Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd, which is currently being used as a COVID-19 Treatment Centre, as a government university subject to any conditions, following discussions with the government as soon as the treatment process concludes. Former Governor of the Eastern Province, M.L.A.M. Hizbullah further testifying at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the 2019 April 21st Attacks, also suggested that changing the Constitution and implementing a process of electing representatives on the basis of ethnicity, instead of the electoral system of electing people's representatives by constituency, could primarily resolve the domestic ethnic conflict in the country.